Sowing in April
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In Southern Victoria, April begins our sowing for next spring and summer. Garlic, broad beans and cool season annual flowers!
COOL SEASON, HARDY ANNUAL FLOWERS
Hardy annuals either require cold stratification or simply germinate at cooler temperatures. Often the plants require a period of vernalisation, or cold, to flower prolifically. And they also cope better with, if not enjoy, cooler temperatures.
Both daylight and temperature are triggers for many plants and seeds. As growers, we can take advantage of the coolness of autumn and winter to germinate and grow hardy annuals.
One indicator of whether you can autumn sow hardy annuals is how reliably they self seed in your garden; if you have cerinthe, poppies, Larkspur, calendula and/or bachelor buttons popping up, you should try Autumn seeding.
If your winter season is especially wet or your location has a winter weed issue, it is also possible to sow most hardy annuals from mid June - mid August. We cold stratify the seed first and also ensure to sow early enough that the plant experiences the vernalisation period necessary to flower. And if the long range forecast is for a warmer than usual spring, sowing now ensures a long harvest period for these cool loving flowers.
LARKSPUR
Larkspur ‘Summer Skies’
Larkspur are one of our favorite late spring/early summer spires. They are fantastic cut flowers with a long stem length and a two week vase life. We love them arranged by themselves or in combination with pale foliage and lime green flowers, roses, peonies, bells of Ireland, poppies, celosia, zinnias. With an array of colours, they are quintessential cottage garden flowers occupying herbaceous borders for centuries and much sought after by floral designers.
We have written about how to sow and grow larkspur including direct sowing and transplanting instructions HERE.
POPPIES
Shirley Poppy ‘Pandora’
Breadseed poppies and shirley poppies are both easy to grow hardy annuals.
We have written about both including direct sow and transplanting instructions HERE.
SWEET PEAS
Sweet Pea ‘High Society’
The elegance and fragrance of sweet peas in the spring - summer garden captivates and enchants many gardeners, florist and bouquet customers. Prized for their delicate blooms and intoxicating fragrance, they are easy to grow and mix well in the herbaceous border and into cut flower production.
We share timing, sowing and transplanting methods and much more… Read More
CERINTHE OR HONEYWORT
Cerinthe ‘Pride of Gibraltor’
With its truly unusual colour, containing silver, green, purple and blue all on one stem, and lovely nodding heads with little bell flowers, this easy to start annual mixes well with other flowers. Cerinthe is cold and frost hardy and will readily self seed.
NIGELLA
nigella ‘White’
Delicate foliage becomes densely covered in buds that open revealing white, multilayered petals surrounding sea anemone like stamen and an interesting seed pod. The flowers have with a great vase life and add a whimsy to bouquets. See More…
CALENDULA
Calendula ‘Ivory Princess’
We cannot help but smile on the gloomiest of winter days when we see the bright faces of calendula. It shines in winter and will readily self seed providing endless cheery blooms which are edible! Calendula are also great cut flowers.
WINTER LETTUCE
We have written a guide to winter lettuce! READ MORE…
FIVE REGIONS - WHAT TO SOW WHEN
In many other regions of Australia, the growing season is returning - just as we are rapidly losing daylight. For a general guide to sowing in the five temeperate regions of Australia, please view our extensive chart
